CONMEBOL Futsal Evolution League explained

CONMEBOL Futsal Evolution League
Organiser:	CONMEBOL
Confed:	CONMEBOL (South America)
Conferences:	North zone South zone
Teams:	20
Champions:	(4th title)
Most Successful Club:	(4 titles)
Current:	2023 CONMEBOL Futsal Evolution League

The CONMEBOL Futsal Evolution League, named natively in Spanish as the CONMEBOL Liga Evolución Futsal and formerly named as South American Futsal League, is a continental league competition for South American men's national futsal teams.

The competition is organized by the governing body for South American football, CONMEBOL, who launched the league in 2017 as part of its Development Department's Evolution Program.^[1] The first three editions (2017, 2018 and 2019) were played under the name South American Futsal League,^[2] and from 2022 it adopted its current name.^{[3] [4]} All ten members of the continental confederation take part in the league, with both senior and under 20s teams representing each nation; therefore, a total of 20 teams participate.^{[5] [6]}

The league consists of two phases: the regular season and the finals. The teams are first divided into two geographically based conferences, the North zone and South zone, to compete in a round robin tournament against the other members of their own zone during the regular season. The winners of each zone then proceed to face each other in the finals to contest the league title.^[6]

Brazil are the four-time current champions.

Competition structure

The league operates under the following format:^[6]

Zones & teams

• The ten member nations of CONMEBOL have been split into two conferences based on their geographic location in South America: a North zone and a South zone, comprising five nations each.
• Each nation is represented by two teams: their senior national team and their under 20s national team. Therefore, a total of 20 teams take part.

Regular season

• During the regular season, each zone hosts its own tournament involving all five nations of said zone, taking place in one of the five countries of the zone in question over the course of five days.
• The fixtures are split into two categories of matches; a set of matches contested between the senior representative teams and a set of matches contested between the Under 20s teams.
• Teams compete in a round robin format exclusively against the other four teams in their own category.
• Points earned by the nations in both the senior and the under 20s matches are combined into one single cumulative table.
• The nation top of the table with the most points after all matches are completed are deemed zone champions; the winning nations of each zone event proceed to the finals.

Finals

• In the finals, the North zone champion faces the South zone champion; their senior teams play each other over two legs, as do their under 20s representatives for a total of four matches.
• The event takes place over two days. The first leg of the senior and under 20s ties take place on day one and the second legs, on day two.
• The nation which accumulates the most points from all four matches combined will be crowned league champions.
• If the teams are level on points after the four matches are complete, a tie-breaking penalty shootout is contested to decide the winners.

Results

The following shows the results of the finals in which the regular season champions of the respective zones play against each other for the league title. The nation that earns the most points from the four matches that comprise the finals, wins the league.

The league did not take place at all in 2020 or 2021 due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in South America.

Season	Host		Result				Matches
			Winners	Points	Runners-up		Category	width=120	First leg	width=120	Second leg
2017 details				9 – 3			Under 20s	6–0 (+3pts Brazil)	4–3 (+3pts Brazil)
			Senior		2–1 (+3pts Brazil)		1–3 (+3pts Argentina)
2018 details	Encarnación, Paraguay			10 – 1			Under 20s	1–5 (+3pts Brazil)	1–5 (+3pts Brazil)
			Senior		3–5 (+3pts Brazil)		3–3 (+1pt each)
2019 details	Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil			6 – 0			Under 20s	2–0 (+3pts Brazil)
			Senior		4–2 (+3pts Brazil)
2022 details			The north zone champion has not yet been determined			Under 20s
						Senior
2023 details				7 – 4		Under 20s	2–6 (+3pts Brazil)	0–2 (+3pts Argentina)
			Senior		1–1 (+1pt each)	2–1 (+3pts Brazil)

Notes and References

1. Web site: Inició la CONMEBOL Liga Sudamericana de Futsal. CONMEBOL. 16 August 2017. 12 November 2023. es.
2. Web site: Reporte de Resultados: Programa Evolución 2016-2018. Results Report: Evolution Program 2016-2018. CONMEBOL. 26 April 2024. es.
3. Web site: Liga Evolución de Futsal: características de la competencia. Argentine Football Association. 18 August 2022. 12 November 2023. es.
4. Web site: Las Selecciones Sub 20 y Mayor de Futsal jugarán en agosto la Liga Conmebol Evolución 2023. Argentine Football Association. 5 July 2023. 12 November 2023. es.
5. Web site: Liga Sudamericana de Futsal y Fútbol Playa. CONMEBOL. 18 August 2017. 12 November 2023. es.
6. Web site: Reglamento de Liga Sudamericana de Futsal y de Futbol Playa. CONMEBOL. 18 August 2017. 12 November 2023. es.